


a good boy

by call_me_steve



Series: pull me apart, oh dollmaker [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
Genre: Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, GOOD DOG TITUS, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Titus, What A Good Boy, but i make it my OWN canon, my canon now bitch, yeah idk how to tag OOP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 08:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21371317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/call_me_steve/pseuds/call_me_steve
Summary: Damian's trying to deal with everything, Jaime and Gar just want to know whats going on, Raven knows what to do.
Relationships: Background Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Dick Grayson & Koriand'r & Garfield Logan & Raven & Jaime Reyes & Damian Wayne, Titus the Dog & Damian Wayne
Series: pull me apart, oh dollmaker [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529525
Comments: 5
Kudos: 258





	a good boy

Damian flitters between saying, _ it’s not a big deal, _ and ignoring the rest of the Titans.

It gets on Jaime’s nerves. 

Mostly, it’s just _ unsettling. _ You have this partial-demonic teen- (not Raven, and at least Jaime _ likes _ her)- who tried to basically _ kill _ Jaime the first moment he could, then you take him for a week and bring him back as an actual _ child _ who cries and clings and _ shakes. _ It’s not like Jaime _ hasn’t _ seen Damian like this before- though, last time it wasn’t really all that bad. Last time, Jaime didn’t get what was wrong. This time, he _ sort _ of knows. 

Sort of, because Dick was gone for over a week, and he took Damian with him. Even Kori hadn’t really known, she was running off of assumptions and what little Dick let slip. “Whatever it is,” she’d said, “it had to be traumatic. We all have to be open and understanding with him when he comes back. He’s not like all of you, he deals with things a little differently.” 

Now, they’re both back. As of yesterday morning, actually. And, yes, Damian is _ already _ on his nerves. 

It’s not hard to do when you’re Damian Wayne. 

Jaime’s seen Damian for exactly three hours, and he’s already broken down twice apparently. Gar tells him that Damian sort of broke down at breakfast, the morning they came back. “He goes from being an unmovable boulder to a trainwreck in three seconds flat- and it’s only when Dick is around,” he gruffs out, as Jaime grabs an apple from the bowl. “It’s not like it’s _ bad, _ I guess-” 

“Everyone knows that you’ve cried a billion times this past week,” Jaime deadpans. 

“Her death is fresh, man. I- Okay?” 

“I didn’t mean anything bad by it, Gar-” They both pause for a total of ten seconds, before letting out a sigh at the same time. “I’m sorry.” 

Garfield hums. Jaime didn’t expect anything less. “Like I said, it’s not _ bad. _ Just weird, y’know? He’s acting his age for once, and it’s over- over whatever _ happened _ to him. But- We don’t know what that whatever _ is! _ What _ happened_?” 

“We could try asking Kori again,” Jaime offers. “Or actually try to ask Dick? We’re a part of this team too- we need to be able to have each other’s backs through thick and thin here. We can’t do that if they’re leaving us in the dark!” 

He takes a bite of the apple in his hand as Gar settles down into his hands. “Maybe it’s because Dick and Kori- unlike us, they’re actual adults. They know better than us with this kind of stuff. And you know how Dick acts whenever something happens to Damian- It’s like the world is ending when he gets a papercut. To him- this has gotta be like- the whole _ universe _ ending! A galactic _ war_!” Garfield tosses his hands into the air to bring home his point. “That’s his kid there- all snotty like some kind of eight year old! ‘Course he’s not gonna go screaming about whatever happened!” 

Jaime can’t help it when he snorts-

It’s then that he notices Damian. His green eyes are narrowed into slits. “It is not that big of a _ deal,_” he hisses out. “If you wish to know, you could bother to _ ask _ me, instead of doing whatever” -he sends a glare to Garfield- “that was.” 

There it is again. _ It’s not that big of a deal. _ Jaime’s fingers twitch as he tries his hardest to not _ strangle _ this damn kid. 

“Are you going to tell us then? Can we _ ask?_” 

“It is not that big of a deal,” Damian repeats. “It’s nothing that I have not done before, when I was still with Mother.”

And then he’s gone. 

Jaime buries his head in his hand and groans. 

He really doesn’t like how that _ sounds, _ and all Damian _ said _ was a sentence or two. _ Nothing I haven’t done before. Nothing I haven’t done with Mother. _

Jamie _ saw _ Damian’s face when they were locked up by Brother Blood. While it was Brother Blood who carried the name, Damian looked like he was literally _ bathing _ in the stuff. His suit was dyed down a darker color, his tanned skin had a reddish hue and his entire face broke out in a mix of crimson and purple-yellow tones. He knows what that _ implies, _ of course, he’s not so dense that he wouldn’t. Either he resisted so badly when Slade tried to take him, or- 

Jaime doesn’t want to think about the or. 

(Don’t get him started on the _ scream. _ Kori started with one, but the moment she swallowed them, all Jaime could hear was the dual cries of Gar and Damian. Damian sounded _ young. _ Entirely _ too young._) 

It’s half an hour later when Raven slinks into the room, reaching for the almost empty pizza box. She pulls out a frozen slice and bites down on it, settling down across from Jaime and Garfield. She’s with her cloak, but without her normal hero costume. Instead, she’s dressed seemingly enough for a night out. A purple top, high-waisted, black ripped jeans. 

Garfield forces up a conversation. It soon turns back to Damian, even with Raven trying to deflect the topic away more than she replies. 

“It’s not very nice to talk about other people,” she mumbles out, “especially if they’re not here to hear it.” 

“To be fair,” Garfield replies, somewhat sheepish as he rubs the back of his neck, “we _ did _ ask. He told us to ask him himself, rather than Kori or Dick. And we _ did! _ We asked and he told us what he always says! _ It’s not that big of a deal! _ I’m starting to think it’s all false news. Like- It _ is _ a big deal if it’s making you flip on a dime, man!” 

Raven cocks her head to the side. “It’s sweet that you two care about him, but I think you’re going about it all wrong.” 

“How are _ you _ going about it?” Jaime snarks back. He swallows it the moment he says it, cheeks flushing red. _ Five, six, seven- _ “Sorry.” 

She only smirks. 

Jaime takes off the next day for the soup kitchen. He keeps one ear bud in, tuned into the podcast that Garfield’s starring on. He’s not actually sure what Dick and Kori are doing- ever since they all came home after Terra and Slade, they’ve been lurking around the tower to watch over Damian’s every movement. Raven’s at the tower today, supposedly put on ‘Dami-duty’ as Gar always calls it. 

They’re adjusting just fine, he thinks. Gar’s dealing with Terra’s death like a champ- as he talks about her on the podcast, his voice gets a little wobbly and far, far away. He talks about his other teammates, about possible new recruits- (Diana brought around Wonder Girl a while ago, just so she could meet the Titans. Oddly enough, Damian was the first one to greet her, first one to pull her inside, first one to introduce her to the team. 

_ You are always welcome here, _he’d said, as Dick watched from the sidelines. 

Later, Jaime had passed by the common room, where Dick and Kori sat, curled up together. _ It’s hard to tell why he’s being so kind to her, _ Dick had said, without knowing that Jaime was listening. _ I feel like she reminds him of someone. Green eyes, tanned skin- it’s hard to understand what goes on in that boy’s head, sometimes. If it’s not that, I think that I’m drawing a blank. _

_ Maybe it has to do with Terra, _ Kori said next. _ I think had Donna reminded Damian of Talia, he shouldn’t be nearly as kind to her as he really is. _

Dick had shifted to put his head in his hands. _ Fucking Talia. He still _ loves _ her, even after Heretic and- _

Jaime had left, then. This conversation wasn’t for him to hear, at least not with the direction it was going. Besides, Jaime wasn’t looking for answers about _ Talia, _ whoever the hell that was. He was looking for answers about _ Slade _ and _ Damian._)

His dad shows up halfway through his shift. (Jaime cries, but he won’t admit it to anyone in the Titans.) He won’t say anything more than that. What happens with his dad is for him to know, and everyone else to find out. 

They end up going out, though, and when his dad gets around to dropping him off at the tower, it’s late and Jaime is high on good vibes. Gar gets back at the same time, Kori by his side. “Next time,” she’s saying, as Jaime waves his dad off, “please make sure that you have a ride home prior to leaving. Dick and I were having an important conversation.”

“I _ know,_” Gar whines, like a child trying to persuade his parents, “but it seems like that’s all you two _ do _ . You’re always squirreled away somewhere” -Jaime has the audacity to snort- “_talking! _ I know it’s about Damian, Kori, but the thing is, _ we need to know what’s going on with him too!_” 

Kori stares for a moment, before heaving a sigh. “We’ll talk to Damian about it. I understand that the two of you are worried about him. I don’t- I’m not sure that Dick even knows the full story-” 

“We just want to know,” Gar says. 

“I know.” 

Jaime, without saying a word, beelines for the common room. Behind him, Kori comes calling for Dick and Damian, following Jaime’s path-

And then he hears a light, joyful _ laugh _ and the soft _ yip _ of a puppy. 

What the hell. 

He’s a little panicked as he twists around the corner into the living room- there’s no _ dogs _ in Titans Tower and that laugh isn’t one that Jaime’s heard before. A million panicked thoughts race through his head- a new recruit? Some batshit crazy asshole who managed to get past their defenses? One of Dick’s other brothers? (Seriously, Dick and Damian have _ fifty, _ Jaime doesn’t even _ know _ all of them, at least he doesn’t think so. He knows that Kori works with Bruce’s second oldest- Jason- sometimes, along with Roy. He knows that Tim used to be a part of a second Teen Titans team and this one, for the briefest sliver of time.) 

Instead, he’s met with Damian lying on the floor, a dopey smile on his face. He’s holding a pitch black _ puppy _ up over his face as it wags its little paws and tail. Dick stands off to the side, leaning on the side of the couch, something akin to peace etching his features. Raven’s on the couch, laying her head on her elbows over the side so she can watch Damian. Jaime doesn’t think any of them notice that him- and Kori, now- are standing in the doorway, as Damian lowers the dog onto his chest. Gar finds a place right by Jaime’s side, hiding his little grin.

“His name is Titus,” he says. “His name is Titus and I love him.” 

“More than me?” Dick asks, voice soft. 

Damian’s face curls up into a half sneer. “That is a _ dirty _ question to ask.” 

Jaime steps back as Raven slinks off of the couch and over to him and Kori. “Leave them be for now,” she says. “I think he’ll talk tomorrow.” 

You know? Jaime doesn’t think he really cares. 

Let him take as long as he needs.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah okay there's a new part to this because I CAN OKAY
> 
> tumblr: [potato-reblob](https://potato-reblob.tumblr.com/)


End file.
